Editing Cowboy (section)

==Cowgirls<!--'Cowgirl' and 'Cowgirls' redirect here-->==
{{Redirect|Cowgirl}}
[[File:Russellrodeocowgirlonabuckinghorse.gif|thumb|upright|''Rodeo Cowgirl'' by [[Charles Marion Russell|C.M. Russell]]]]
[[File:FannieSperrySteele.jpg|thumb|[[Fannie Sperry Steele]], Champion lady bucking horse rider, Winnipeg Stampede, 1913]]{{More citations needed section|date=December 2022}}
The history of women in the West, and women who worked on cattle ranches in particular, is not as well documented as is that of men. Institutions such as the [[National Cowgirl Museum and Hall of Fame]] in modern years have attempted to gather and document the contributions of women.<ref name="Cowgirl Hall of Fame website" />

There are few records mentioning girls or women working to drive cattle up the cattle trails of the Old West. Women performed considerable ranch work, and in some cases (especially when the men went to war or on embarked on long cattle drives) ran them. There is little doubt that women, particularly the wives and daughters of men who owned small ranches and could not afford to hire large numbers of outside laborers, worked side-by-side with men and thus needed to ride horses and perform related tasks. The largely undocumented contributions of women to the West were acknowledged in law; the Western states led the United States in granting women the right to vote, beginning with [[Wyoming]] in 1869.<ref>{{cite web |title=Wyoming grants women the vote |url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wyoming-grants-women-the-vote |website=History: This Day in History |access-date=July 11, 2019}}</ref> Early photographers such as [[Evelyn Cameron]] documented the life of working ranch women during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

While impractical for everyday work, the [[sidesaddle]] was a tool that afforded women the ability to ride horses in public settings instead of being left on foot or confined to [[horse-drawn vehicle]]s. Following the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], [[Charles Goodnight]] modified the traditional English sidesaddle, creating a western-styled design. The traditional ''charras'' of [[Mexico]] preserve a similar tradition and ride sidesaddles today in ''[[charreada]]'' exhibitions on both sides of the border.

It was not until the advent of [[Wild West shows]] that "'''cowgirls'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA-->" came into their own. These adult women were skilled performers, demonstrating riding, expert marksmanship and trick roping that entertained audiences around the world. Women such as [[Annie Oakley]] became household names. By 1900, skirts split for riding astride became popular and allowed women to compete with men without scandalizing Victorian-era audiences by wearing men's clothing or [[Bloomers (clothing)|bloomers]]. In the films that followed beginning in the early 20th century, the role of the cowgirl was expanded in popular culture and film set designers developed attractive clothing suitable for riding Western saddles.

Independently of the entertainment industry, the growth of [[rodeo]] brought about the rodeo cowgirl. In the early Wild West shows and rodeos, women competed in all events, sometimes against other women, sometimes with the men. Cowgirls such as [[Fannie Sperry Steele]] rode the same "rough stock" and assumed the same risks as the men (and all while wearing a heavy split skirt that was more encumbering than men's trousers) and competed at major rodeos such as the [[Calgary Stampede]] and [[Cheyenne Frontier Days]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Fannie Sperry Made the Ride of Her Life |url=https://www.historynet.com/fannie-sperry-made-the-ride-of-her-life.htm |website=HistoryNet |access-date=July 11, 2019 |date=June 12, 2006}}</ref>

[[File:Cowgirl Lasso 4889218394.jpg|thumb|Modern rodeo cowgirl]]
Rodeo competition for women changed in the 1920s as the result of several factors. After 1925, when Eastern promoters started staging indoor rodeos in places like [[Madison Square Garden]], women were generally excluded from the men's events and many of the women's events were dropped. Also, many in the public had difficulties with seeing women seriously injured or killed, and in particular, the death of Bonnie McCarroll at the 1929 [[Pendleton Round-Up]] led to the elimination of women's bronc riding from rodeo competition.<ref name=eduwrite>{{cite web|url=http://www.eduwrite.com/rodeoevents.html|title=Rodeo Events and Women|publisher=EduWrite |access-date=March 18, 2010}}</ref>

In today's rodeos, men and women compete equally together only in the event of [[team roping]], although women could now enter other open events. In all-women rodeos, women compete in [[bronc riding]], [[bull riding]] and all other traditional rodeo events. In open rodeos, cowgirls primarily compete in the timed riding events such as [[barrel racing]], and most professional rodeos do not offer as many women's events as they do men's events.

Boys and girls are more apt to compete against one another in all events in high-school rodeos as well as [[Gymkhana (Equestrian)|O-Mok-See]] competition, where boys can be seen in events traditionally associated with women riders, such as barrel racing. Outside of the rodeo world, women compete equally with men in nearly all other [[equestrianism|equestrian]] events, including the [[Equestrian at the Summer Olympics|Olympics]], and [[Western riding]] events such as [[cutting (sport)|cutting]], [[reining]] and [[endurance riding]].

Today's working cowgirls generally use clothing, tools and equipment indistinguishable from those of men, other than in color and design, usually preferring a flashier look in competition. Sidesaddles are only seen in exhibitions and a limited number of specialty [[horse show|horse-show]] classes. A modern working cowgirl wears jeans, close-fitting shirts, boots, hat and when needed, chaps and gloves. If working on the ranch, they perform the same chores as cowboys and dress to suit the situation.